St Nicholas Bell Tower — Attraction in Prague

St. Nicholas Bell Tower (Svatomikulášská městská zvonice) is on Malostranské náměstí (square), Praha 1- Malá Strana, Czech Republic.

The Baroque bell-tower, which also served as a fire alarm and clock tower, was built together with the Church of St Nicholas. The building, which replaced the earlier Gothic town bell-tower, was designed and built by the influential architect Kilián lgnác Dientzenhofer. His pupil and son-in-law Anselmo Lurago only modified a portion of the interiors. The tower was built in 1739. It was not fully completed until 1755.

Two years later, the building was damaged, during the Prussian siege of Prague. Although at first glance it may seem that the tower belongs with the church of St Nicholas, it was never an ecclesiastical property, but always a secular municipal property of the Lesser Town of Prague. The height of the tower is the same as the height of the adjacent church dome – 79m, the gallery is 65m off the ground, 215 steps up. Running up the entire solid construction is a spiral staircase, mostly brick, timber-framed only in the uppermost section. In addition to the staircase and roof truss, the building also comprises several rooms, serving as the towerman’s abode and office.

Among the interesting aspects of this important monument are the singular black kitchen (the only accessible one in Prague), the Baroque sewer system and the bell of St Nicholas dating from 1576.

Starting in the 1960s, true to the then regime’s practices, the tower came to stand for something else – being a secret police observation centre, for monitoring the surrounding embassies (notably the American, German and British ones).

In the tower, visitors will get acquainted with the demanding life of the towermen – the city’s sentries, the history of the building and the misuse of the monument during the Communist.

Opening hours: November – February: Daily from 10:00 to 18:00 March: Daily from 10:00 to 20:00 April – September: Daily from 10:00 to 22:00 October: Daily from 10:00 to 20:00

Entrance fee: Basic: 150 CZK Reduced: 100 CZK (children aged 6-15, students under 26, seniors over 65, and holders of disability identification card ZTP) Family: 350 CZK (valid for 2 adults and up...

The Bell tower at St. Nicholas Church is one of a kind and gives an incredible display of Prague in all its' beauty and glory. Not only does it provide an outdoor view of the city and beyond, it also provides informational checkpoints along the climb up the 303 stairs to the top. Along these checkpoints you will find historical information about the tower, it's inhabitants, and the history of the tower and Prague as a whole. At the very top you'll also find two cool video presentations regarding the history of Prague and its' place during the war.

Additionally, one of the employees that works at the top of the tower is truly an incredible individual and is a huge asset to the tower and the city of Prague. Pictured in my attached photo is Miroslav. He works three days out of the week in four bell towers around Prague. I was lucky enough to be in this tower while he was working. He provided an incredible wealth of information, knowledge, and happiness to myself and my cousin. We were both truly impressed and captivated by the information that he provided regarding the tower and Prague in it's whole, beautiful glory. He was personable, knowledgeable, and extremely hospitable as we explored the tower. He made our time in the tower educational and enlightening. Not only that, he made our visit in Prague truly memorable and exemplary. Thank...

arrived at 9:58am as the tickets are half price (95czk) during the first hour of opening (10-11am)

the lady at the ticket office was quite rude, the doors were open but she made us stand outside in the rain until 10am had reached. upon purchasing the ticket, she didn’t seem very friendly, didn’t respond when i said good morning and generally did not seem like she wanted to be there.

took us around 15/20 minutes to get to the top, including stepping out at the observation deck about 3/4 way up, where very friendly staff will check your ticket.

there are a total of 303 steps to get up to the highest point of the tower, some areas are steeper and narrower than others so do keep this in mind.

for us is was very quick going up and down as we were the first ones in and only saw one other person during our time there.

there are some rooms you can explore on the way up that show the living quarters/explain a little about the history of the tower etc which is quite interesting and a nice break from the stairs

right at the top there’s a little animation to watch before you can head back down

overall i would recommend visiting if you’re in the area, especially if you’re able to make it...